YEAR 3: November 2013 – Conference 1:
Sexual Citizenship and Human Rights:
What Can the US Learn from the EU and European Law? This conference will confront several areas of legal dispute in both the US and Europe: (1) extension of marital and adoption rights to non-traditional families, (2) anti-discrimination laws protecting sexual minorities in housing and employment, (3) transgender rights, (4) age of consent and the sexual rights of minors, (5) regulation and protection of sex workers, (6) definition of child pornography, and (7) punishment and treatment of sex offenders. We will bring to UT experts in these areas from various European countries who can speak about the evolving legal situation in Europe and/or sexological, sociological, or criminological research pertaining to European practices that may differ significantly from those in the US. In addition, we will seek the participation of several American scholars who work on these questions.
Proposed 10 participants: We have so far secured the interest of the following from Europe:
Noted sexologist Dr. Erwin Haeberle of the Magnus Hirschfeld Institut in Berlin
Prominent human rights attorney Dr. Helmut Graupner of Vienna, president of Rechtskommittee Lambda, the leading gay rights organization in Austria
Former British MP Peter Tatchell
Dr. Laura Agustin of Sweden (recently Visiting Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland)
Overall we anticipate inviting 5 European authorities, and the same number of American counterparts.